Rudd's mouse or the white-bellied brush-furred rat (''Uranomys ruddi'') is the only member of the genus ''Uranomys''. This animal is closely related to the

spiny mice The term spiny mouse refers to any species of rodent within the genus ''Acomys''. Similar in appearance to mice of the genus '' Mus'', spiny mice are small mammals with bare, scaled tails. However, their coats are endowed with unusually stiff gu ...

brush-furred mice The brush-furred mice, genus ''Lophuromys'' are a group of rodents found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are members of the subfamily Deomyinae, a group only identifiable through molecular analysis. ''Lophuromys'' is also known as the brush-furr ...

, and the

link rat The link rat (''Deomys ferrugineus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known by the common name Congo forest mouse.Schlitter, D. & Kerbis Peterhans, J. 2008''Deomys ferrugineus''.The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. V ...

Description

Head and body sizes range from 8.4-13.4 cm long. Tail length is 5.3-7.9 cm. Weight is 41-53 g. The hairs on the back of this species are stiff like the brush-furred mice, but not spiny as in '' Acomys''. The belly is white and feet are covered in white hairs. Incisors project anteriorly.

Natural history

The animal is known across a wide

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, but is never common. They are usually taken in

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

h habitat. Rudd's mouse is thought to be

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

. It feeds predominantly on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

References

* Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern *Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1765287 Deomyine rodents Rodents of Africa Mammals described in 1909 Taxa named by Guy Dollman